A hearing is scheduled for May 20th. Bonds' defense team is going to try to persuade the judge to set aside the guilty verdict. I wouldn't be surprised if this was successful. But if it isn't then Bonds could be sentenced that day. At most, he probably would spend a few months in a minimum security facility or be placed under house arrest. The feds wouldn't have much to show for their efforts which began eight years ago and took three and a half years to bring to trial.

The greatest punishment Bonds could receive would be from the Baseball Writers Association of America. Next January, Bonds is eligible to be selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Even if Bonds' conviction is overturned I suspect the BBWAA would mete out their own punishment and not vote Bonds into the Hall - on his first try at least. However, it can be argued that Bonds had Hall of Fame career before the time he began to be suspected of taking steroids. As such they might not leave him out of Cooperstown indefinitely.

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